The Table is the Same – Has Mourinho Improved Manchester United?

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

All three lads appeared to tip us for the title last summer:

http://www.utdforum.com/forum/showth...ghlight=finish

Now 5th in April is a buzz.

Interesting times.

I seem to remember you clamouring for Guardiola to take over from Van Gaal..

How's he doing? Going to end his first season potless isn't he? Despite spending more money than every other team in the entire division and having an entire club set up to his every whim and desire....

One point ahead of "failure" Mourinho despite United having their top goalscorer Zlatan injured and their best assist provider Mata out of the season as well.

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

Don't take it personally, pal. Only 1% of the forum had us 5th etc.

Don't worry pal, I won't. Doesn't seem like you've been posting as much recently, everything okay?

The weirdo who wrote that shite could have just watched our matches and concluded that we've improved rather than using some stats to prove that point.

Originally Posted by Sparky***

I seem to remember you clamouring for Guardiola to take over from Van Gaal..

How's he doing? Going to end his first season potless isn't he? Despite spending more money than every other team in the entire division and having an entire club set up to his every whim and desire....

One point ahead of "failure" Mourinho despite United having their top goalscorer Zlatan injured and their best assist provider Mata out of the season as well.

Guardiola took over a team that finished on the same amount of points as us last season. Not that weird that we're both here on similar points totals again. But I haven't called either manager a failure. Seems a bit fickle tbh.

Both will be disappointed, though. Most expected a Manc top 2 didn't they.

Title's still on

Originally Posted by Baron

You're easy to spot in that regards tbf old sauce, it's the legit football heads that worry me.

More of a legit #@&%!, yes(?)

Feel a bit sorry for Siders, Bunks et al. Nostalgia for something that never really was and certainly can't ever be again.

Saffers should be praised for his cleansing efforts.

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

All three lads appeared to tip us for the title last summer:

http://www.utdforum.com/forum/showth...ghlight=finish

Now 5th in April is a buzz.

Interesting times.

Never said I was happy with 5th mate.

Originally Posted by Cream

More of a legit #@&%!, yes(?)

Feel a bit sorry for Siders, Bunks et al. Nostalgia for something that never really was and certainly can't ever be again.

Saffers should be praised for his cleansing efforts.

No idea why my name is on your lips....

Van Gaal was better than Moyes. That's the fact I was stating....

None of them fit to tie Freggle's bootlaces

Siders has a point that the "save us Jose" crew from last season have scaled their expectations as the season has gone on and realised there are deeper issues beyond the manager. LvG had the squad "underachieving" in 5th, but with £150m + Zlatan added we're still 5th.

Again there are reasons beyond the manager and tbh he has done a good job juggling Europa with a long unbeaten run in the league but lets not forget one or two on here bigged him up as a saviour to such an extent months before he signed so you've set yourselves up to be disappointed.

Shot stats are largely irrelevant. LVG obviously preferred for his players to wait for a good chance to shoot rather than blast the ball from anywhere and hand possession back to the opposition. He went too far into the extremes though, presumably because he didn't trust the squad as a whole and therefore wanted to micromanage everything they did on the pitch. It's a style far more suited to shit players than talented ones, which is probably why most of the dressing room ended up resenting him.

Jose has made us better to watch for the most part and obviously loosened the reigns a little (except Shaw, who apparently needs to be told exactly what to do in every second of the match) but has been let down by some really poor finishing this season. Hopefully next season we sort that problem out, and if we do then there's no reason we can't challenge for the title again.

iirc people felt like we were turning a corner during van gaal's first season, and we did get some very good results that year, despite the incredibly dodgy start.

this season is a massive improvement on van gaal's second though.

Moyes was a worse (much worse) manager than LvG - this is not contestable on any vaguely rational basis.

Originally Posted by red in cumbria

Moyes was a worse (much worse) manager than LvG - this is not contestable on any vaguely rational basis.

Repped.

Originally Posted by itisme_panaflex

Hmm.

7th. With humiliations, including liverpool 3-0 at home.

Or missing out on CL by goal difference and winning the fa cup.

...

Can't compare.

Even if last year was unwatchably boring.

It's not even a choice is it ?



There's a lot of united fans now so hurt they have to compare their current joy to past hurts and frustrations..
Really odd.

Originally Posted by red in cumbria

Moyes was a worse (much worse) manager than LvG - this is not contestable on any vaguely rational basis.

Err errrrrr

Great Expectations. Van gaal for me was by far the most disappointing manager we've had in all the time I've been watching united. Honestly expected greatness and when that didn't look like it was going to materialise, tangible progress at least. We went backwards and that second year included some of the worst football I've ever experienced in terms of enjoyment levels. I actually much preferred watching us when we were shit in the 80's - at least something happened. There were matches last season in which nothing happened at all.

Aston Villa at home towards the end of last season was the nadir for me. Felt like not only asking for my money back but insisting that they paid me to be there.

I expected nothing from Moyes and I wasn't wrong. Much more euphoric when Moyes got booted (Liverpool £#%&!ing up etc at the same time) but I was chuffed to bits when van gaal got chinned.

I think quite a bit of my hatred towards him was fed by being told on here that he and the football were brilliant all the time. One thing I've had to remind myself is that a lot of people on here are fixated to the point of being mental. The internet hides mental illness quite well and real life doesn't.

Questionable place this

Originally Posted by itisme_panaflex

Hmm.

7th. With humiliations, including liverpool 3-0 at home.

Or missing out on CL by goal difference and winning the fa cup.

...

Can't compare.

Even if last year was unwatchably boring.

fair comment, you are right, but last year felt like a big step back from the year before, and it was so £#%&!ing dull, but i shouldn't have bracketed it or him with Moyes.

Originally Posted by My Name is Keith

Err errrrrr

Great Expectations. Van gaal for me was by far the most disappointing manager we've had in all the time I've been watching united. Honestly expected greatness and when that didn't look like it was going to materialise, tangible progress at least. We went backwards and that second year included some of the worst football I've ever experienced in terms of enjoyment levels. I actually much preferred watching us when we were shit in the 80's - at least something happened. There were matches last season in which nothing happened at all.

Aston Villa at home towards the end of last season was the nadir for me. Felt like not only asking for my money back but insisting that they paid me to be there.

I expected nothing from Moyes and I wasn't wrong. Much more euphoric when Moyes got booted (Liverpool £#%&!ing up etc at the same time) but I was chuffed to bits when van gaal got chinned.

I think quite a bit of my hatred towards him was fed by being told on here that he and the football were brilliant all the time. One thing I've had to remind myself is that a lot of people on here are fixated to the point of being mental. The internet hides mental illness quite well and real life doesn't.

Questionable place this

Succinctly summed up. You can pontificate about formations and philosophies but at the end of the day shouldn't football be at least enjoyable?

Manchester United losing 30 league games in 3 seasons is just atrocious no matter how you paint it. I remember being utterly derided after that Arsenal game last season when I pointed out that I smelt a little bit of the bottling shithouse about Van Gaal's United. This came to the fore again when it all came down to one game at Upton park where they were winning 2-1 with 15 mins to go to finish in the top 4 and condemn City to a season in the Europa. Yet again they bottled it in spectacular fashion.

Thankfully we were playing Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final after that the - team in the worst form in all 3 divisions in English football at the time; something like one win in 19 games. Still needed extra time and a wonder goal to turn over that dross.

Originally Posted by My Name is Keith

One thing I've had to remind myself is that a lot of people on here are fixated to the point of being mental. The internet hides mental illness quite well and real life doesn't.

Questionable place this

Originally Posted by Sparky***

Succinctly summed up. You can pontificate about formations and philosophies but at the end of the day shouldn't football be at least enjoyable?

Manchester United losing 30 league games in 3 seasons is just atrocious no matter how you paint it. I remember being utterly derided after that Arsenal game last season when I pointed out that I smelt a little bit of the bottling shithouse about Van Gaal's United. This came to the fore again when it all came down to one game at Upton park where they were winning 2-1 with 15 mins to go to finish in the top 4 and condemn City to a season in the Europa. Yet again they bottled it in spectacular fashion.

Thankfully we were playing Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final after that the - team in the worst form in all 3 divisions in English football at the time; something like one win in 19 games. Still needed extra time and a wonder goal to turn over that dross.

Thank God the dark days of United reduced to battling for 4th place are long gone.